A Scandal Made At Midnight

CHAPTER THREE

‘ALESSANDRO ROSSIWANTS to see me?’

Ella’s eyebrows rose in two golden arcs as she lounged back on the sofa in her pyjamas. A small knowing smile curved her mouth. ‘Must have been the shoes.’

‘It must have,’ Liane agreed, ‘or the gorgeous dress or your stunning looks or your sparkling personality. Perhaps all three—or four, even.’

Ella laughed, tossing her head back against the pillows. ‘Stop it, I’m blushing.’

Not as much as she’d been blushing last night, when she’d been sitting alone in that bar with Alessandro, remembering how he’d looked down at her with such amusement. ‘I can’t decide if you’re a mouse or a virago.’ Well, she’d been a virago last night, stung into tart replies by his own self-assured arrogance. This wasn’t about her, Liane reminded herself. It was, as ever, about Ella.

‘He wants to meet you at his office this afternoon,’ she told her stepsister, ‘so you ought to get dressed.’

‘But it’s Saturday.’ Ella’s eyes fluttered closed as she let out a deep, breathy sigh. ‘And I’m exhausted. I was out till five in the morning, you know. Alonso was having a party in Soho—’

‘I guess you didn’t turn into a pumpkin, then.’

‘It’s the carriage that turns into a pumpkin, Liane. Get your fairy tales straight.’ She laughed as she opened her eyes. ‘Wasn’t that an amazing stunt, though? I put the video up at two o’clock this morning and it already has fifty thousand hits.’ A bubble of delighted, incredulous laughter escaped her as she reached for her phone and started scrolling. ‘Sixty thousand now! Liane, I’m practically viral.’

‘Amazing that the term is a compliment.’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘Yes, I do. What video was this?’

‘Of Alessandro finding the shoe, of course.’ Ella leaned back against the sofa, a smug smile curving her lips.

‘You filmed him?’ Liane asked, uneasy at the thought.

‘Of course.’

Judging from what little she knew of the man, Liane doubted he would be pleased. He’d certainly acted suspicious last night, demanding to know why Ella had left—and not out of concern either. He seemed, she thought, a quiet, controlled sort of person, someone who prized restraint over emotion. Someone utterly unlike Ella. She sighed and glanced at her watch. It was already past noon, and last night Alessandro Rossi had asked—demanded, really—that Ella appear at his office in midtown at two o’clock sharp. Liane’s first instinct had been to refuse on principle; Alessandro Rossi alarmed her as much as he fascinated her, and she wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted with her stepsister. Then she realised how beneficial a meeting with him could be for Ella’s career aspirations, such as they were. Not that she knew much about social media influencing herself, but still.

Even though he’d only arrived a few months ago, Alessandro Rossi was already one of the most famous men in the city—handsome, wealthy, powerful, reclusive and thought to be of Italian nobility. Finding out what he wanted with Ella would surely be the savvy thing to do. And it has nothing to do with you wanting to see him again.

‘Don’t you want to start getting ready?’ Liane cajoled. ‘This could be your big break, Ella.’

She stretched one foot, studying the silver nail polish on her toes. ‘What do you think he wants?’

‘I have no idea.’ That wasn’t entirely true. When Alessandro had said he wanted to find Ella last night, he’d assured her it was for a business proposition.

‘Legitimate,’ he’d added sharply when Liane had looked somewhat scandalised. ‘I don’t have to hire mistresses, Miss Blanchard, if that’s what you were thinking. Trust me on that score.’

‘I wasn’t—’ she’d protested rather feebly.

‘I can read your expression perfectly. That’s not what this is about. At all.’ Which had reassured her to a rather ridiculous degree, even as she’d told herself not to be a fool. Alessandro would never think of her that way. It wouldn’t even occur to him.

‘Then what is it about?’ she’d asked, doing her best not to blush as she imagined what Alessandro Rossi’s mistresses might be like.

‘A business opportunity that will advantage your sister’s interests as well as my own. Now, please get her to my office at two o’clock sharp tomorrow if she wants to know the details.’ And he’d handed her his business card by way of dismissal.

‘No idea at all?’ Ella pressed, lifting her head to regard Liane from her lazy sprawl on the sofa. ‘What did he say to you?’

‘He did mention some sort of business proposition,’ Liane allowed, ‘but I have no idea what it could be. Still, I imagine it might be worth listening to, at least.’ Normally Liane would have advised caution—a word her sister did not take too much to heart—but she was honest enough to acknowledge that she was, somewhat guardedly, encouraging her sister to attend this meeting not just because of the opportunity it could provide but because she wanted to see Alessandro Rossi again. She wasn’t sure whether she trusted or even liked him, but when she was in his presence she felt...electrified. More alive than she’d ever felt before, as if every nerve and sense had sprung to quivering life. Which of course was ridiculous, and yet...

True.

‘So?’ she prompted, nudging Ella’s foot. ‘Are you going to go?’

‘Oh, I suppose.’ Ella yawned hugely. ‘I mean, for curiosity’s sake more than anything else.’

‘What did you talk about with him last night?’ Liane asked.

‘I don’t really remember. Basic chitchat. Dull stuff, mostly. He can be charming, but it felt a bit like an act. Almost like he didn’t really want to be there.’

‘He’s known to be somewhat reclusive.’ According to the tabloids, anyway. Alessandro Rossi did not socialise or appear in public except for work, something that had made him an enigma, and an attractive one at that.

‘In other words, boring.’ Ella yawned again, her eyes fluttering closed, and Liane couldn’t believe her sister was going to let this opportunity slip through her fingers. Typical Ella—ambitious only when she felt like it.

‘Ella.’She nudged her foot again. ‘If you’re going to go you should have started getting ready ten minutes ago.’

Ella cracked open an eye to gaze at her speculatively. ‘Why are you so determined to get me there?’

Don’t blush. ‘It’s a good opportunity for you. Or at least it might be.’

‘I suppose.’ Ella let out another enormous yawn as she stretched languorously and then finally, in a tangle of golden limbs, rose from the sofa. ‘Oh, all right, okay, I’ll go, if just to satisfy your curiosity.’

‘I’m not—’ Liane began, but Ella just laughed all the way upstairs.